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Your experience with app, firmware and GUI as well as tech support from different AVR/AVP brands?

DrStranger

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Hi,

While I wait for the brand and model I am going to buy I want to evaluate three things additionally. I only had an Pioneer AVR (VSX-922, but I have sold it) and their App at that time was good, it worked with some basic stuff and did a fair job, I can’t really say anything else since I had nothing to compare to. When it come to firmware updates I had, 1 or 2 updates As I recall, during my ownership. And the GUI was mixed l, the one pushing from the AVR directly to my TV as easy but looked something similar to Commodore 64 , but something I liked was the web based GUI that could be reached via the LAN/internal network. I never contacted Pioneer so I have nothing to say about them.

What is your experience? Have you had a good and satisfying support and experience as well as usage ? Have the brands worked well on supporting their products firmware for a long time (bugs fixed, new functionality, etc), app GUI - updates as well as its functionality, tech support helping with relevant and solid support?

Please drop your experience here, I think these stuff can be a game changer when it’s between 1-3 models you are weighing between.
 

Head_Unit

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I'm not sure this is what you're asking, but setting up our Anthem AVM70 was rather more a pain in the butt than many Denons we've had (which themselves are paragons of letting the programmers design the menu flows instead of someone thinking about the customer). Had to make a...Google account or something? Google Home? In order to just connect WiFi which is done directly in a Denon menu. IIRC you would not be able to set up streaming without using a phone or tablet.

Now the AVM70 updated itself and didn't choke or brick itself, so yippee for that
 
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DrStranger

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I'm not sure this is what you're asking, but setting up our Anthem AVM70 was rather more a pain in the butt than many Denons we've had (which themselves are paragons of letting the programmers design the menu flows instead of someone thinking about the customer). Had to make a...Google account or something? Google Home? In order to just connect WiFi which is done directly in a Denon menu. IIRC you would not be able to set up streaming without using a phone or tablet.

Now the AVM70 updated itself and didn't choke or brick itself, so yippee for that

Reading that you had several Denons, has Denon released firmware (updates for the AVR) often? How many years have they supported them after release? Have you been satisfyed with their app in terms overall functionality, meaning have you been forced to use their remote or OSD/GUI to do certain functions?
 
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Koo

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Denon has awesome firmware support, they will update models with new features as far back as they literally can. They released Dolby Vision for 4 year old models a couple of years ago. My 7 year old unit is still getting updates.

Same can't be said for their GUI though, it's absolutely abhorrent. The resolution is probably 480p or something and its very slow, I think it has something to do with the analog video outputs. Honestly they should just drop those, only very few people need those anymore.
 

fordiebianco

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I have had various Denons over the years (currently avc-x3700h), and firmware updates have never been an issue, didn't break anything and sometimes even introduced new features. Happy to receommend.
 

ZolaIII

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Well MusicCast got a new UI and while it's a deacent modern one now the old one whose much more cerefully tailored and had a better functionality. Last updated also seems to have bricked connectivity/streaming support for some services in multi room setups (mostly for speakers). I hope they will fix that soon. Anyway people complained about UI how it whose outdated and such a lot. I guess you can't satisfy everyone. Regarding me it whose OK and still is, problem's I had where related to rooter (stalls/hangs) not the device itself.
I mostly use it for DLNA streaming (less and less for online radio and Spotify) and do the DSP part on a PC with simple R-N range stereo amplifier that is now discontinued. Regarding firmware there whose only couple updates but I prefer it that way (if it's not broken don't fix it, as every time they change something crucial they brake something like with new UI).
 
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DrStranger

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Thanks guys for the info. Very interesting to see that Denon release updates for as old as 7 years! :) Do you guys use app too? Can it replace the entire remote and OSD/GUI? The experience I had with Pioneer was that it could do almost everything, as the remote and physical buttons on the 922, but could not function as replacement for the OSD, setting up HDMIand Speaker size etc. as an example, is Denon’s app able to do fully replace the remote, buttons and OSD?
 

Koo

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The Denon web GUI looks like this, as far as I know it has every setting the normal GUI has but don't quote me on that since I never use it. It seems very responsive now that I test it, no problems here.

For me a much more important app was the Audyssey app from which I can control the room correction to sound vastly better. You should pretty never correct above the Schroeder frequency like all AVR's do by default and the app lets me change that.
 
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DrStranger

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unknown.png


The Denon web GUI looks like this, as far as I know it has every setting the normal GUI has but don't quote me on that since I never use it. It seems very responsive now that I test it, no problems here.

For me a much more important app was the Audyssey app from which I can control the room correction to sound vastly better. You should pretty never correct above the Schroeder frequency like all AVR's do by default and the app lets me change that.
It looks great, more fancy than my old VSX-922. :) It looks like you can also set the setting for the HDMI ports, so it’s a good thing one does not have to go in to the OSD.

Thank you for taking time and posting this.

I saw on App Store that Denon had a bunch of apps for remote control their AVR, a bit confusing.
 

GD Fan

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It looks great, more fancy than my old VSX-922. :) It looks like you can also set the setting for the HDMI ports, so it’s a good thing one does not have to go in to the OSD.

Thank you for taking time and posting this.

I saw on App Store that Denon had a bunch of apps for remote control their AVR, a bit confusing.
I have two apps for controlling the Denon - the Denon AVR Remote app and their HEOS app. It isn't clear why they can't be / aren't combined.

The AVR Remote app can pretty fully replace the handheld remote, if memory serves.

HEOS is the interface for streaming services. It integrates with my Tidal account in a far more user friendly way than the Yamaha app did and therefore has somewhat revolutionized how I consume music. And it works for volume control too, thus somewhat replacing the actual remote too.
 

SKBubba

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Most of Denon's updates lately have to do with Heos. And Heos is a not very good app unless you've been living under a rock and never seen or heard of anything else.

Plus, their last firmware update broke surround sound upmixer and dynamic eq on mine. They of course denied it, and said it was just some Heos updates. Yet curiously, when I did a factory reset and turned off automatic updates, all is well again. Something similar happened with a previous version ov the avr when an update broke bass management. A subsequent update fixed it. I don’t think they do much qa testing.

Despite all that, which is of course anecdotal, I'm still all in on Denon. Not sure that any other avr offers the same balance of price, performance and features.
 
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DrStranger

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I have two apps for controlling the Denon - the Denon AVR Remote app and their HEOS app. It isn't clear why they can't be / aren't combined.

The AVR Remote app can pretty fully replace the handheld remote, if memory serves.

HEOS is the interface for streaming services. It integrates with my Tidal account in a far more user friendly way than the Yamaha app did and therefore has somewhat revolutionized how I consume music. And it works for volume control too, thus somewhat replacing the actual remote too.
Never undersood why they keep creating new apps to control new generations of AVRs either instead of just adding... cant be that hard to develope one would think..
 
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